MorphoSys AG has broadened its portfolio of oncology assets with an agreement to in-license a candidate bispecific antibody targeting prostate cancer, one of the most common cancers in men. The deal, with Emergent BioSolutions Inc of the US, involves the co-development and commercialisation of a preclinical asset that has shown potential to activate T cell immunity against prostate cancer cells expressing prostate specific membrane antigen.
Skyepharma Plc has purchased rights to a respiratory technology platform from Pulmagen Therapeutics (Synergy) Ltd that could form the basis of a range of new products for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Prosensa Holding NV of the Netherlands has received a commitment for up to €5 million in funding to support the further development of its portfolio of antisense oligonucleotides for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare genetic disorder.
Ablynx NV has received a €2.1 million grant from a government body in the Flanders region of Belgium to investigate the treatment of eye diseases with the company’s antibody-derived therapeutics which go by the name of Nanobodies.
ArGEN-X NV has raised an additional €1.8 million from its initial public offering on the Euronext stock exchange in Brussels following the partial exercise of an over-allotment option by one of the underwriters.
Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd, which develops gene sequencing technology, said that it has raised £35 million in new funding through a private placement of its ordinary shares. The transaction brings to £180 million the total funds raised since its founding in 2005.
Roche has agreed to acquire Santaris Pharma A/S of Denmark, an RNA-targeted medicine specialist with whom it already has a strategic alliance. The Switzerland-based company will pay $250 upfront in cash for the company, with contingent payments of up to $200 million.
The Switzerland-based life science company Evolva Holding SA has reached an agreement to acquire Prosarix Ltd, a privately-owned biotechnology company in Cambridge UK that works in the area of computer-based drug discovery.
AstraZeneca Plc has announced plans to expand its respiratory franchise by in-licensing rights to a group of marketed and investigational products for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from Almirall SA of Spain.
AbbVie Inc has won the agreement of Shire Plc’s management to create a newly merged biopharmaceutical company that will be domiciled in the UK and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The deal was secured on 18 July for a combination of shares and cash valued at £52.48 per share. The total deal value is about £32 billion.